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An Arlington, Texas, couple was sentenced today by U.S. District Court Judge John H. McBryde for forcing a Nigerian widow to perform domestic labor for them for more than eight years. Emmanuel Nnaji, 50, a naturalized citizen of the United States was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Ngozi Ihechere Nnaji, 40, a citizen of Nigeria, was sentenced to nine years in prison. The defendants were also ordered to pay $305,957.60 in restitution.

On Feb. 2, 2010, both defendants were convicted by a Ft. Worth, Texas, jury on all charges, including conspiracy to commit forced labor, forced labor, conspiracy to harbor an alien for financial gain, harboring an alien for financial gain, document servitude and false statements to an FBI agent.

According to evidence presented at trial, the victim, a widowed and mother of six children, including a chronically ill child, was recruited in Nigeria with promises that her children would be cared for in exchange for her work in the United States.

Upon arrival in the United States, the defendants confiscated the victim's passport and never returned it. For more than eight years, the victim cared for the defendants' children day and night, cooked and cleaned with no days off. The defendants did not allow the victim out unsupervised; prohibited her from speaking with her children on the phone unsupervised; and forbid her to make friends or converse with the defendants' friends. According to evidence at trial, the victim also testified that Emmanuel Nnaji also sexually assaulted her. Although the victim was promised that her family would be cared for, her family received a total of about $300 over the eight years. When the victim asked to return to Nigeria, the defendants refused. The victim was ultimately rescued with the assistance of a Catholic priest.

"The involuntary servitude and mistreatment that this victim endured is intolerable in a nation founded on freedom and individual rights," said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. "The prosecution of this case demonstrates the Justice Department's commitment to punishing those who prey upon vulnerable victims and exploit them in modern day slavery."

"The FBI is committed to aggressively pursuing and bringing to justice the human traffickers who prey upon others who are only seeking to better their lives," said Special Agent in Charge Robert E. Casey Jr., FBI Dallas. "The sentencing in this case sends a strong message to those who are engaged in this heinous form of modern day slavery that this practice will not be tolerated in our community."

The case was investigated by the FBI. The case was prosecuted by Susan L. French and Michael J. Frank of the Civil Rights Division and its Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit, with assistance of Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Michael Worley of the U.S. Attorney's Office of the Northern District of Texas. Refugee Services of Texas provided assistance to the victim following her rescue.

Preet Bharara, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and George Venizelos, the Special Agent-in-Charge of the New York Office of the FBI, announced today the unsealing of an indictment against fourteen members and associates of the Gambino Organized Crime Family of La Cosa Nostra (the Gambino Family) charging racketeering, murder, sex trafficking, sex trafficking of a minor, jury tampering, extortion, assault, narcotics trafficking, wire fraud, loansharking and illegal gambling.

The 14 defendants charged today are Daniel Marino, Thomas Orefice, Onofrio Modica, Dominick Difiore, Anthony Manzella, Michael Scotto, Michael Scarpaci, Thomas Scarpaci, David Eisler, Salvatore Borgia, Steve Maiurro, Keith Dellitalia, Suzanne Porcelli and  Anthony Vecchione.  Modica was arrested on April 16, 2010.  Twelve defendants were arrested early this morning by the FBI, and Maiurro remains at large.  The arrested defendants are expected to be presented in Manhattan federal court later today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael H. Dolinger.  The case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan.  The initial conference before Judge Kaplan is scheduled for April 21, 2010, at 11 a.m.

As alleged in the indictment unsealed today in Manhattan federal court, as well as the government's motion for detention filed today:

Daniel Marino is a longtime member and is currently a boss of the Gambino Family.  In that capacity, Marino has over 200 fully-inducted or "made" mafia members under his command, as well as hundreds of associates who commit crimes with and for the mafia.  Thomas Orefice and Onofrio Modica are currently soldiers of the Gambino Family acting under Marino's supervision.  Orefice and Modica each supervise crews that include Dominick Difiore, Anthony Manzella, Michael Scotto, Michael Scarpaci, Thomas Scarpaci, David Eisler and Salvatore Borgia, all of whom are charged with racketeering and racketeering conspiracy.  The indictment also charges other individuals who committed crimes with and for the Gambino Family, including Steve Maiurro, Keith Dellitalia, Suzanne Porcelli and Anthony Vecchione.  

In addition to the racketeering charges, the defendants are charged with the following crimes:

Murder of Thomas Spinelli

Marino is charged with the 1989 murder of Thomas Spinelli, a made member of the Gambino Family.  In the months leading up to Spinelli's death, concern arose in the Gambino Family about his testimony in a federal grand jury about many of the mafia's members and activities.  As a result, Marino, working with various co-conspirators, including John J. Gotti (who was then Boss of the Gambino Family) and Salvatore Gravano (who was then Underboss) set out to kill Spinelli to prevent him from further testifying.  Marino and his co-conspirators lured Spinelli to a window company in Brooklyn, where he was shot in the head and killed.  Marino then helped to dispose of Spinelli's body, which has never been found.

Murder of Frank Hydell

Marino is also charged for the 1998 murder of Frank Hydell.  In 1997, suspicion arose within the Gambino Family that Hydell, Marino's nephew, was cooperating with law enforcement which, in fact, was the case.  Based on these suspicions, various Gambino Family members and associates plotted to kill Hydell and sought Marino's approval for the hit.  Upon Marino's authorization to kill Hydell, the Gambino Family members and associates lured Hydell to a strip club in Staten Island where he was shot three times in the face and back.  He died in the strip club's parking lot.

Murder of James DiGuglielmo and Richard Sbarra

Modica is charged with the double murder of James DiGuglielmo and Richard Sbarra.  Modica and DiGuglielmo became involved in a drug-related dispute.  As a result, on Aug. 22, 1987, Modica drove his motorcycle with a shooter riding on the back to a crowded parking lot where the shooter opened fire at DiGuglielmo.  DiGuglielmo and Sbarra, an innocent bystander, were killed in the drive-by shooting.

Sex Trafficking and Sex Trafficking of A Minor

Orefice, Difiore, Manzella, Scotto, Eisler, Maiurro and Porcelli are charged with sex trafficking and sex trafficking of a minor.  From 2008 to 2009, the defendants operated a prostitution business where young women and girls -- including an underage girl who was 15 years old at the time -- were exploited and sold for sex.  The defendants first recruited various young women and girls -- ages 15 through 19 -- to work as prostitutes.  The defendants then advertised the prostitution business on Craigslist and other websites.  The defendants drove the women to appointments in Manhattan, Brooklyn, New Jersey and Staten Island to have sex with clients.  The defendants then took approximately 50 percent of the money paid to the young women.  The defendants also made the women available for sex to gamblers at a weekly, high-stakes poker games that Orefice and his crew ran.

Jury Tampering

In 1992, then-Boss John J. Gotti was on trial for federal racketeering and murder charges in the Eastern District of New York.  Modica, along with various other Gambino Family members, took part in a plot to locate the anonymous, sequestered jurors sitting on that trial.  Modica and the others eventually penetrated various security measures, and located the jury at the hotel where it was sequestered.  The plan to tamper with the jury was called off, however, when Gotti came to believe that the jury would not convict him, even without outside interference.

Extortions and Assaults

Marino is charged with extorting broad swaths of the construction industry in and around New York from at least the 1980s to the present.  Through the use of violence and threats, Marino and the Gambino Family have extorted millions of dollars annually from unions, contractors, developers and suppliers.  

Orefice, Difiore, Manzella, Scotto, Michael Scarpaci, Thomas Scarpaci, Dellitalia, Eisler and Vecchione are charged with extorting payments from various businesses and individuals through the use of violence and threats.  The defendants targeted businesses in the home heating oil industry and the financial services industry, as well as various individuals in and around New York City.

Several of the extortions resulted in serious beatings.  For example:

• In December 2005, after an extortion victim failed to make a payment, Orefice, Difiore and Dellitalia punched and used a baseball bat to beat the victim.
• In 2008, Orefice and Difiore tracked down another extortion victim who failed to make a payment, beat him viciously, and left him on the street.
• In the summer of 2009, members of Orefice's crew went to the office of a business owner in an attempt to shake him down, demanded to see their extortion victim, and, when refused, threatened the business owner's office staff.

Wire Fraud

Orefice and Manzella are charged with defrauding various high-end restaurants in New York City by inflating invoices for meat orders placed with Manzella's company and paying kickbacks to the chefs responsible for ordering the meat.  The invoices were sometimes inflated by as much as 40 percent of actual costs.  To ensure that the chefs at the restaurants would continue ordering meat from Manzella's company, and to encourage them to turn a blind eye to the scam, Orefice and Manzella kicked back about five percent of the proceeds back to them.

Narcotics Trafficking

Orefice, Difiore and Borgia are charged with trafficking in narcotics -- including cocaine, oxycontin, and marijuana -- for and on behalf of the Gambino Family.  

Loansharking

Marino, Orefice, Difiore, Scotto, Michael Scarpaci and Thomas Scarpaci are charged with making and collecting extortionate extensions of credit -- commonly known as "loansharking."  When debtors became unable to keep up their repayment obligations, the defendants threatened them.  In one series of consensually-recorded discussions about the loansharking operation, a loanshark victim was said to have been "roughed up" and put in the trunk of a car.  The participants then agreed that, if necessary, firearms, including AK-47s and AR-14s, could be obtained to help ensure repayment from debtors.  

Gambling

Marino, Orefice, Modica, Difiore, Manzella, Michael Scarpaci, Thomas Scarpaci, Eisler, Borgia and Dellitalia are charged with running illegal gambling operations for the Gambino Family.  These operations included an internet-based sports betting, or "bookmaking," operation, and a regular, high-stakes card game.

The indictment also seeks forfeiture of the proceeds of the alleged crimes, including of $20 million as to counts one and two.

U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara stated: "As today's case demonstrates, the mafia is not dead.  It is alive and kicking.  Modern mobsters may be less colorful, less flamboyant, and less glamorous than some of their predecessors, but they are still terrorizing businesses, using baseball bats, and putting people in the hospital.  Today, the Gambino Family has lost one of its leaders, and many of its rising stars have now fallen.  We will continue to work with our partners at the FBI to eradicate the mafia, and to keep organized crime from victimizing the businesses, and the people, of this City."

FBI Special Agent-in-Charge George Venizelos stated: "In some ways, this is not the Gambino family of John J. Gotti.  But while the leadership may maintain a lower profile, this case shows that it's still about making money illegally, by whatever means.  No crime seemed too depraved to be exploited if it was a money-maker, including the sexual exploitation of a 15-year-old.  In truth, despite the popular fascination, it was never really about the thousand-dollar suits.  It was -- and is -- about murder, mayhem and money."

Mr. Bharara praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI.  Mr. Bharara also noted that the investigation is continuing.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elie Honig, Steve Kwok and Jason Hernandez are in charge of the prosecution.  The case is being handled by the Office's Organized Crime Unit.

The charges contained in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

SOURCE U.S. Department of Justice

Twenty-three individuals were indicted on Sept. 9, 2009, by a federal grand jury and arrested today by Bayamon Strike Force teams, as a result of an investigation led by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), announced United States Attorney Rosa Emilia Rodriguez-Velez during a press conference today. Agents from the Bayamon Strike Force, the Puerto Rico Police Department (PRPD) and the FBI participated during the investigation and arrests this morning.

The four-count indictment charges that the defendants, aiding and abetting each other, participated in a conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute in excess of 9,000 kilograms of cocaine, aboard American Airlines commercial aircrafts. The following defendants are employees of the airline: [1] Wilfredo Rodriguez-Rosado, aka "Mogoyo," aka "Pitin," aka "Mogo," aka "La Gorda;" [6] Manuel Santiago Alvarado, aka "Faria," aka "La Silla;" [7] Wilfredo Santiago Rios, aka "Wilo," aka "La Rubia;" [8] Jose D. Cordero San Miguel, aka "V-8," aka "La Prieta;" [14] Orlando Jimenez Torres, aka "Tony Finger," aka "Tita;" [15] Wilfredo Cancel Garcia, aka "Cancel;" [16] Roberto Rodriguez Cruz, aka "El Tibu," aka "Pucho;" [21] Jose M. Colon Martinez, aka "Many" and [22] Camilo Sanchez Rodriguez.

This drug trafficking organization, lead by defendant Wilfredo Rodriguez Rosado [1], began operating in or about 1999. Rodriguez Rosado recruited and organized a group of American Airlines employees to ensure that suitcases loaded with kilograms of cocaine were smuggled into American Airlines aircrafts and transported to different cities in the continental United States.

Count three charges four defendants with attempt to posses with the intent to distribute approximately 20 kilograms of cocaine in June 2009, a transaction which the defendants were unable to complete for reasons beyond their control. The $18 million forfeiture count includes the following properties: four residences in the municipality of Morovis; two residences in Bayamon; one residence in Barceloneta; one multi apartment complex in Morovis; two business establishments in Morovis; and one business establishment in Bayamon.

"The United States Attorney's Office, along with our state and federal law enforcement counterparts, will continue investigating and prosecuting drug trafficking organizations which use our island as a trans-shipment point for drugs to the U.S. mainland. The use of commercial aircraft to smuggle narcotics in and out of Puerto Rico, also creates a serious threat to our national security," said Rosa Emilia Rodriguez-Velez, U.S. Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico.

"Today's arrests are an example of DEAs success in aggressively pursuing those criminal organizations which exploit vulnerabilities in our airports and recruit airline and other air transportation industry employees to facilitate their drug trafficking activities. With these arrests DEA closes another route for thousands of kilograms of cocaine to reach the United States or any other part of the world from Puerto Rico," said DEA Special Agent in Charge Javier F. Pena. "With the cooperation of the airline industry, the Puerto Rico Ports Authority and our law enforcement counterparts DEA will keep drug traffickers away from our airports. By denying the drug traffickers alternate smuggling routes, we disrupt the flow of drugs into Puerto Rico and discourage the use of the island as a transshipment point in the Caribbean."

"The lure of easy money through drug trafficking eventually only leads to time in prison, the seizure of unlawfully gained assets and property, as well as destroys the family nucleus," said Luis S. Fraticelli, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI-San Juan Field Office.

The case was investigated by the Bayamon Strike Force, lead by the DEA, the PRPD, and the FBI, and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Olga Castellon and Special Assistant United States Attorney Rosaida Melendez.

If convicted, the defendants face a minimum of 10 years in prison and a maximum of life in prison, with fines of up to $4 million. Criminal indictments are only charges and not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Justice

Acting Special Agent In Charge Michael P. Gleysteen, of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Lawrence G. Brown, United States Attorney of the Eastern District of California, and Kenton Rainey, Police Chief, Fairfield Police Department, today announced the culmination of an six-month investigation that resulted in the arrest of two "straw purchasers," individuals who falsified information and purchased at least 37 firearms that were subsequently delivered to felons in Colorado Springs and Northern California. To date, 12 of the 37 firearms have been recovered in criminal investigations throughout the San Francisco Bay area.

Special agents from the ATF San Francisco Field Division and Denver Field Division, detectives from the Fairfield Police Department, local officers from the Colorado Springs area, and the United States Attorney's Offices in Sacramento and Denver worked in unison to identify JERRY JONES and SANAE QUIROZ-JONES, of Colorado Springs, Colo., and subsequently, TRAVIS PRICE, a former resident of Fairfield, Calif., and WENDY GARDINER, a former resident of Colorado Springs, Colo., in an illegal interstate firearms trafficking scheme.

JERRY DEAN JONES, 48, and SANAE QUIROZ-JONES, 53, both residents of Colorado Springs, Colo., were arrested on Sept. 2, 2009, at 1 p.m. without incident at the United States Federal Courthouse, 1929 Stout Street, Denver, Colo. In their court appearance in federal court in Denver that same date, both defendants waived their identity hearings and were released on bail pending their initial appearance in the Eastern District of California, Sacramento, Calif., scheduled for Sept. 11, 2009.

TRAVIS PRICE, 33, is currently in state prison in Taft, Calif., pursuant to state felony violations. Federal charges will be pursued based upon the complaint and warrant issued.

WENDY GARDINER, 32, is wanted and currently a fugitive from justice.

PRICE, GARDINER, JONES and QUIROZ-JONES are alleged to have conspired to engage and willfully engage in the business of dealing firearms without a license, and conspired to make and knowingly make false statements to a licensed firearms dealer during the acquisition of firearms. PRICE and GARDINER were also charged with knowingly possessing firearms shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce after having been convicted of an offense punishable by imprisonment exceeding one year.

"Straw purchasers are responsible for illegal diversion of guns. Many of these firearms ended up in the hands of criminals and used in violent crimes," said ATF's Acting Special Agent in Charge Michael Gleysteen. "We must stop the flow of guns from legal commerce to the criminals."

Gleysteen praised his law enforcement partners and thanked the United States Attorney's Offices for their support throughout the investigation.

"No matter where one might fall in the debate over gun control, there is little dispute that firearms must not end up in the hands of convicted felons," said United States Attorney Lawrence Brown.

"Since becoming chief in April 2007, my officers have confiscated 496 firearms which have or could have been used in other crimes. These efforts along with this current joint investigation with ATF will go a long way in making our communities safer," said Chief Kenton Rainey.

The investigation is ongoing and arrests will continue. The public is reminded that these charges are allegations and not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent until they have been convicted.

The government's case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Todd D. Leras.

More information on ATF and its programs is available at http://www.atf.gov

SOURCE Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

Five members of an extended family were sentenced to federal prison late yesterday, all receiving lengthy sentences for their roles in an international sex trafficking ring that lured young Guatemalan women and girls to the Los Angeles area and forced them into prostitution, the Justice Department announced.

The five defendants sentenced today - four Guatemalan nationals and one Mexican national - were found guilty in February of various charges, including conspiracy; sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion; and importation of aliens for purposes of prostitution. Gladys Vasquez Valenzuela, 38, was sentenced to 40 years in prison; Gabriel Mendez, the Mexican national, 35, was sentenced to 35 years; and the other three defendants, Mirna Jeanneth Vasquez Valenzuela, aka Miriam, 28, Maria de los Angeles Vicente, aka Angela, 30, and Maribel Rodriquez Vasquez, 29, were each sentenced to 30 years in prison.

Evidence showed that the defendants intimidated and controlled their victims by threatening to beat them and kill their loved ones in Guatemala if they tried to escape. Some defendants also used witch doctors to threaten the girls that a curse would be placed on them and their families if they tried to escape. At least two of the defendants further restrained the victims by locking them in at night and blocking windows and doors. The defendants also used manipulation of debts, verbal abuse and psychological manipulation to reinforce their control over the victims. The scheme included strict controls over the victims' work schedules and ominous comments about consequences that befell the families of other victims who attempted to escape.

The defendants collected the profits generated by the acts of prostitution the victims were compelled to perform, and maintained control over the proceeds, keeping tens of thousands of dollars while the victims received next to nothing.

"The young girls and women in this case were victimized and exploited in a horrific way, and these sentences should send a stern message to all sex traffickers that they cannot escape justice for such egregious human rights violations," said Loretta King, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. "Attorneys in the Civil Rights Division will continue to work with U.S. Attorney's Offices across the nation to stamp out this vicious and intolerable crime, and to seek significant prison sentences for anyone engaging in these despicable acts."

"In this disturbing case, the defendants lured young, uneducated and impoverished women and girls to the United States, where they were forced to work as prostitutes in terrifying conditions," said U.S. Attorney Thomas P. O'Brien for the Central District of California. "There were at least 10 victims who were forced into becoming prostitutes under a variety of threats, as well as actual physical attacks that included rapes."

"These sentences are a stern reminder about the consequences facing those involved in the unconscionable practice of human trafficking," said Robert Schoch, special agent in charge for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Office of Investigations in Los Angeles. "While we can't erase the suffering these young women experienced, by aggressively investigating and prosecuting these cases, ICE and the other members of the Los Angeles Human Trafficking Task Force are ensuring that those involved in schemes like this pay a significant price for the pain they cause."

Four additional defendants have pleaded guilty for their role in the scheme. Flor Morales Sanchez was sentenced in May to two years in prison; Pablo Bonifacio was sentenced last November to 33 months in prison; Albertina Vasquez Valenzeula, also known as Cristina, was sentenced in February to 33 months in prison. The final defendant, Luis Vicente Vasquez, is scheduled to be sentenced on Thursday.

Source: US Dept. of Justice